The exhibition “Stream of Consciousness,” featuring works by Ömer Onay shaped through both abstract and figurative expressions, has opened at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) Multi-Purpose Hall. The compositions, drawn from the artist’s more than 40 years of creative output, will be on display until July 6.
Painter Ömer Onay presents a collection distilled from over four decades of artistic exploration in the “Stream of Consciousness” exhibition, now welcoming art enthusiasts at AKM. Curated by Mehmet Lütfi Şen, the exhibition runs from June 19 to July 6 and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
In this exhibition, the artist combines abstraction with subjective sensation, offering modern elegance through compositions imbued with conceptual depth. Onay’s images emerge from a timeless universe, evoking the boundless steppes, silently confident balbals (ancient stone figures), burial chambers, and delicate artifacts. These visuals reflect his intellectual reflections on identity and belonging.
Rejecting ideological frameworks, the compositions rely solely on artistic subtlety. They create an atmosphere of introspection that deepens with metaphysical meaning. At times, the works approach calligraphic aesthetics and gains dynamism through graphic inventions.
“Stream of Consciousness” illuminates the world of an artist who maintains a profound relationship with his artistic heritage, creating originality without denying belonging or identity. Within the technical richness of graphic arts and painting, Onay traces the essence of music, rhythm and sublimity through his abstract and figurative pursuits.
The exhibition’s title, borrowed from literature, presents three intertwined series as a unified whole. Onay’s paintings contain complex fragments of autobiographical memory, inviting viewers not only to see but also to feel and recreate.
